The (Not) Buzz with CCX - Season 19 Episode 13

[ScarletDevilCCX]

Yes, that's correct; no alcohol tonight; I've got a bit of an upset stomach right now and I had a brief dizzy spell at around 1 PM so I'm just going to have some lemon ginger tea...oh, wow. Luke tested positive for COVID so he's resting at home and instead we have a guest judge...Season 1-8 judge Paula Abdul?! Wow, that was unexpected. Paula and Ryan catch up, and she takes a shot at Simon's age. They put up a photo of Paula and Ryan in Season 1. Mom says that the judges don't have anything to decide, and I tell her yes they do, tonight's wild card night. The first person to take center stage is Casey Bishop, and after pausing so long that I half expect him to send it to a commercial break with her standing there, Ryan informs her that she is in the Top Ten. She's singing "House of the Rising Sun" by the Animals. Well, she's no Haley Reinhart, but this is good, if a little shouty. 84 seems right. ...Wait, Ryan, the five that will sing for their lives? Did, uh, did someone drop out? Colin Jamieson is up second and he's already hyping up the crowd, and he's not in America's top ten. He's singing "Waves" by Dean Lewis, and it's actually good. Best performance I've seen out of him; I give it a score of 69. I also get confirmation that Wyatt Pike has dropped out, for reasons still unknown.

 

DeShawn's up third, snazzy as ever. He's in the Top 10. He's going uptempo with Stevie Wonder's "Higher Ground" and wearing a suit reminiscent of fifties groups--my mother name-checks The Platters. This is...just okay. 60. Up fourth is Cassandra Coleman. She's singing "Light On" by Maggie Rogers--oh, this song! I know this song. Again, not blowing me away, but very good, 73.

 

Caleb's up fifth; Ryan jokes that he doesn't recognize him without the hat. He'll be doing an original that he'd been working on when he first auditioned. Ryan's squinting at the card. But Caleb is advancing. The song is called "Nowhere", and of course, he's better on an original than he is on a cover. 74. We need another person for the Danger Zone, but instead, we get another commercial break.

 

The reunion tour continue with Randy Jackson joining via FaceTime. He's hardly recognizable with how much weight he's lost. Paula makes a weird joke about STDs and then makes the letters stand for something else. Madison Watkins is up sixth...oh no, she's in the Danger Zone. And double oh no, she's singing Drake's "Hotline Bling". Of course, it's a huge reimagining, so it becomes acceptable. 67. Ava August is up next, looking ready for prom. She's in the Top Ten, singing "Love of My Life" by Queen. Ugh, a slow ballad. 78, because I can tell it was good, but I'm never going to be a fan. We get an anecdote about the mailman in Ava's neighborhood hearing her singing from her bedroom as he delivered the mail when she was a little kid.

 

We get some of Luke's comments from home messaged to Ryan. Beane's up eighth and has not been put through. He's singing "Grow as We Go". 88! Beane was robbed! Chayce Beckham's up sixth, and he'll go through...yes, he does. He's singing "What Brings Life Also Kills" by Kolton More and the Clever Few. Even better than Beane, I think, so we'll go with 89 to top it.

 

Ryan finally announces the twist that we here at IDF have known about for over a week. Then he announces that Alyssa Wray is safe, and singing "Greatest Love of All" by Whitney Houston. Please no. 26 even with the impressive big notes. Ryan quickly makes with the pimpage, mentioning that Jennifer Hudson was DM-ing Alyssa. My mom said she liked Alyssa's version better than Whitney's...really? That's one of "the songs", the ones that I'll always critique harshly because my mother sang them to me when I was a kid. ...What the hell are you wearing, Alanis? She is not in the Top Ten. She's doing Demi Lovato's "Heart Attack". And despite the ridiculous outfit, that's a 96. Amazing.

 

Sadly, my commentary for the next few singers got eaten by improperly saving data when I got a PM. I loved Willie and Grace, a 94 for the former and a 92 for the latter. Hunter was not bad, but not great and it was a weird song choice, I gave him a 54. Graham is the last one in the Danger Zone, and he gives another old-fashioned performance, very pretty. 70 seems right. The judges seem to love him, though.

 

The judges made their choices over the commercial break. I quickly count up the gender breakdown of the Top 10, it's 5 and 5. So probably one guy and one girl. Lionel says that they're judging them only on tonight's performances, and on that note, their first pick is...Madison Watkins?! Holy crap that's a bad take. Katy says that the three judges all chose the same two contestants, and the other one was...Beane.

Edited April 13, 2021 by ScarletDevilCCX